In 1857, Harriet Ann Jacobs (February 11, 1813 – March 7, 1897) was completing a manuscript for an account of her life as an enslaved person, and of her struggle to free herself and her children.

It took several years to bring it to fruition, following years of seeking emancipation. Jacobs was urged by abolitionists she befriended once she was able to escape to New York and New England to tell her story. 

After two publishers went bust on the eve of promised publication dates (unrelated to the book itself), Jacobs was able  to procure the printing plates, and had the book privately published in a small edition. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself, was published in 1861. 

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